As operations management (OM) best practices have become mature, research on practices has begun to shift its interest from the justification of the value of those practices to the understanding of the contextual conditions under which they are effective—OM practice contingency research (OM PCR). This article sets out to examine and critique the current state of OM PCR. We review OM PCR studies through the lens of the major theoretical view on contingencies, contingency theory, along a number of relevant dimensions: contingency variables, performance variables, measurement, research design and employed form of fit. In this process, we put forward a number of tasks that need to be accomplished in order to move OM PCR forward and develop more solid conceptual foundations in which to anchor rigorous research in this area. Finally, we reflect on the theoretical arguments that underlie OM PCR (which are based on the contingency approach) and identify its limitations in fully explaining the currently observed patterns of use of OM practices and associated performance outcomes. As a result, we propose that in order to increase our understanding of these patterns, OM scholars need to study in more depth the process of selection of OM best practices by organizations. Accordingly...

The main objective of this article is to provide a contingency theory of control for informing the project management of information systems development (ISD). Control is characterized by levels of formality. The theoretical framework provides a propositional inventory by bringing together the three central constructs of control, context and consequence. Six types of control mechanisms which can be used in various mixes are identified and classified under an informal/formal continuum. The context is hierarchically arranged into three levels and provides the various contingency factors which may affect the control of ISD projects. Finally, the consequences are further divided into three perspectives, each of which provides a new angle to study the outcome of ISD projects. The broad propositions linking the three constructs should provide the basis for future research on the management of ISD projects

We develop a contingency theory for how structural closure in a network, defined as the extent to which an actor’s network contacts are connected to one another, affects the initiation and adoption of change in organizations. Using longitudinal survey data supplemented with eight in-depth case studies, we analyze 68 organizational change initiatives undertaken in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. We show that low levels of structural closure (i.e., structural holes) in a change agent’s network aid the initiation and adoption of changes that diverge from the institutional status quo but hinder the adoption of less divergent changes.

A popular philosophy of manufacturing reform commonly referred to as "World Class Manufacturing", calls for the adoption of organizational practices that significantly alter coordination within and between manufacturing firms. These practices are intended to enable continuous improvement, speed up response time, improve product quality, and create closer relationships with customers and suppliers.
The adoption of coordination methods advocated by World Class Manufacturing, such as cross-functional teams and vendor certification, has been uneven. This is not surprising, considering the diversity of technical and institutional demands faced by different manufacturing firms, and even by different groups within firms. But the literature on World Class Manufacturing coordination reforms has yet to describe the key contextual factors and processes which make these methods more or less sustainable for different organizations, continuing to prescribe the same solutions to every firm regardless of their situation or history.
In this study, we turn to organizational theory to help explain the sustainability or abandonment of different World Class Manufacturing coordination methods. Using a case study of three different coordination reforms in a Southern California aerospace firm...

Organization Contingency Theory has served us well for more than half a century. It enjoys abundant empirical support and guides organizational design and change across a broad diversity of contingencies, in terms of command and control as well as organization and management. Through a combination of research and practice we understand how organizations are designed to fit their environments, technologies and other contingencies individually as well as simultaneously. An emerging phenomenon is straining this understanding, however, as new organizations are spawning wholly within virtual worlds. Here the organization and its environment exist solely within technological artifacts. This raises an important organizational design question regarding the fit of such organizations with their virtual environments and corresponding technologies. From one perspective, we can argue that virtual worlds are not important beyond recreation and game playing, that textbook principles of Contingency Theory and organizational design apply to virtual worlds directly, and that our extant understanding of telework, electronic commerce, network-centric operations, and virtual organization is sufficient. From an alternate perspective, many serious organizations are emerging within such worlds...

Contemporary organizational theory posits that teams undertaking complex tasks outperform when lateral, peer-to-peer relationships are emphasized over vertical, subordinate-to-supervisor relationships. Outlining my argument within a structural contingency framework, I suggest that the intersection of the information processing structures and the contigent influence of knowledge sharing is an underexplored avenue for explaining variance in individual and team performance. I use a laboratory setting to explore this theoretical intersection. I manipulate the knowledge sharing processes and information processing structures of four multi-person teams as they undertake a series of computer-mediated counterterrorism decisionmaking exercises with high task complexity and reciprocal interdependency. I analyze the experimental results to explore the relationships between individual team performance and 1) differentiated information processing structures, 2) ability to share knowledge, and 3) interactions between these two manipulations. Each team repeats a variant of the same counterterrorism decisionmaking exercise four times and two of the four teams switch configurations halfway through the experimental series, allowing me to explore individual and team performance 1) cross-sectionally...

Fiedler's Contingency Theory defines Leadership as a relationship in which power and influence are unevenly distributed, and whose efficiency depends on the contingency of the situation (the relationship between leader and group-members, the task structure and the power position of the leader).
Moreover, Maslow's Human Motivation Theory defines Motivation as an organised set of five hierarchical levels of needs (physiological needs, safety needs, feeling of belonging needs, love and esteem needs, self-achievement needs). The hierarchy is arranged on the basis of relative potency, in which the lower level is always the basic level and also stronger than the immediate higher level and the superior level is more complex and differentiated than the lower level.
The main purpose of this study consists in assessing which senior nursing officer leadership style allows group work effectiveness together with subordinate nurses' high level of motivation. In this study, we have applied a quantitative research approach, of a descriptive-analytic type, to data provided by questionnaires with anonymous answers given by nurses working in hospital wards. Six different scales were used: Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire (studies the leader behaviour as described by subordinate nurses)...

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the efficiency of ISO 9001 from a holistic theoretical approach where the Contingency theory, the Institutional theory and the Resources-Based View are integrated. The study was carried out in companies of different sectors of activity in Portugal, based on a qualitative methodology (interviews). The fact of the interviews having been undertaken under an ISO 9001 structure made it easier for companies to grasp the issues under investigation. An ISO 9001 characterisation was carried out on a theoretical framework approach and findings point out efficiency gains and revealed that the absence of ISO 9001 would work as a competitive disadvantage. The contribution of this research aims to reinforce the state of art as concerns the theoretical scope of analysis of these issues enriched by the case study achievement.

Purpose – the aim of this paper is to analyse the diffusion and efficiency of ISO 9001 on different sectors of activity
Design/methodology/approach – for that purpose, a holistic an integrative theoretical approach was based on the scope of the Contingency theory, the Institutional theory and the Resources-Based View (RBV). This theorethical perspective was used in a broad empirical study, using a qualitative and quantitative methodology, concerning Portuguese companies from different sectors of activity.
Findings – according to the findings from both perspectives, a ranked combination of the named theoretical frame was constructed.
Research limitations/implications – as to the analysis of the efficiency of ISO 9000, one of the limitations of this study lays in the consideration of just two sectors of activity, and another relates to its domestic geographical placement.
Practical implications – this study used the ISO 9001 structure for the interviews and this has revealed very useful for the organizations to grasp the matters inquired.
Originality/value – a relevant contribution to the state of art is achieved through the considered theoretical scope of analysis

This dissertation explores philosophical problems in biology, particularly those relating to macroevolutionary theory. It is comprised of a series of three papers drawn from work that is currently at the publication, re-submission, and review stage of the journal refereeing process, respectively. The first two chapters concern the overarching contours of complex life, while the third zeroes in on the short and long-term prospects of human evolution.

The rhetorical journey begins with a thought experiment proposed by the late paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould. Gould hypothesized that replaying the "tape of life" would result in radically different evolutionary outcomes, both with respect to animal life in general and the human species in particular. Increasingly, however, biologists and philosophers are pointing to convergent evolution as evidence for replicability and predictability in macroevolution. Chapters 1 and 2 are dedicated to fleshing out the Gouldian view of life and its antithesis, clarifying core concepts of the debate (including contingency, convergence, constraint and causation), and interpreting the empirical data in light of these conceptual clarifications. Chapter 3 examines the evolutionary biological future of the human species...

WOS:000300763800004 (Nº de Acesso Web of Science); The contingency theory is based on the premise that there is an ideal accounting system that applies equally to all organizations, it all depends on several factors contingent. Existing studies identifying several variables contingency methods of management accounting, however none of these studies addressed the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which justifies research to conclude whether these variables contingency, now established in theory, also if we look at are the small businesses. The objectives of this study are related to the identification of relationships between the method of valuation of products used by SMEs and three contingent variables: firm size, type of production; the arrest of the capital. We found statistically significant relationships between firm size and methods of valuation of goods. The collected data also suggest a relationship between how the company values and products that they produce for stock or on order, however the small number of observations did not allow statistically validate this evidence. With regard to the shareholding, the information collected shows that there is no relationship between the type of society and the method of valuation of goods.

The study aims to analyze works that criticize the use of contingency theory in research inmanagement accounting area in order to identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities andapplication threats, according to the approach of SWOT analysis as well as offer suggestionsthemes and procedures for research in the area. A thorough review of works that sought tocriticize the use of contingency theory in management accounting studies was performed. Thestudies reviewed were those of Otley (1980), Chapman (1997), Chenhall (2007) andLangfield-Smith (2007). As a result the study emphasizes the strengths of the use of theory,threats, highlighting some care in their application for studies in management accounting area.Recommendations for future research include the use of case studies and longitudinalanalyzes.; El estudio tiene como objetivo analizar obras que critican el uso de la teoría de lacontingencia en la investigación en el área de la contabilidad de gestión con el fin deidentificar fortalezas, debilidades, oportunidades y amenazas de la aplicación siguiendo elenfoque del análisis SWOT, seguidamente ofrecer sugerencias de temas y procedimientospara la investigación de la misma. Se realizó una revisión exhaustiva de estudios quecriticaban el uso de la teoría de la contingencia en los estudios de contabilidad de gestión. Losestudios revisados fueron: Otley (1980)...

The goal of this study is to determine whether contingency factors (environment, technology, strategy, organizational structure and size) influence on the attributes of management accounting system of textile companies of Rio Grande do Sul. A questionnaire was sent to the owners of 38 companies registered in the Trade Union of the cities Farroupilha e Sarandi, and were obtained 14 replies. To the data was applied the entropy technique to verify the amount of information of the responses. The results indicated that the environment variable was verifies as the one which influences the most, with an emphasis on the customer tastes and preferences and technology applied to the production process. On the other hand, competition for the purchase of inputs/components and competition attitudes was considered as the variable which influences less the companies. It was concluded that the contingency factors of environment, technology, strategy, organizational structure and size, whether with more or less information weight, influence the attributes of the Management Accounting System.; http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-8077.2014v16n38p195O estudo objetiva verificar se os fatores contingenciais (ambiente, tecnologia, estratégia, estrutura e porte organizacional) influenciam nos atributos do Sistema de Contabilidade Gerencial em empresas têxteis do Rio Grande do Sul. Um questionário foi enviado aos proprietários das 38 empresas têxteis cadastradas no Sindicato do Comércio das cidades de Farroupilha e Sarandi...